How Scientists Found a Link Between Tyramine and Headaches

Experts have long known that tyramine can be harmful to people's health in some cases. Discoveries they made since the 1950s help explain how this ingredient can trigger migraine pain.

Because of its chemical structure, tyramineis called a monoamine. An enzyme in our bodies that breaks down monoamines is called monoamine oxidase (MAO). The enzyme helps process tyramine.

In the 1950s, anti-depression drugs that inhibit MAO went on the market. These drugs, which are still used today, are called monoamine oxidase inhibitors.

Soon after these drugs became available, some people began developing problems when they ate foods containing tyramine while they were taking these drugs. They had headaches as well as high blood pressure.

People taking these drugs can't break down tyramine properly. As a result, tyramine can get into the bloodstream and raise blood pressure. That's why people taking these drugs are supposed to limit the foods they eat that contain tyramine.

In the late 1960s, researchers began suspecting that tyramine could also play a role in migraines. One researcher noted that some people with migraines who also had a deficiency of MAO had headaches after they ate foods containing tyramine.

Migraine Research

In a 2010 study, headache researchers talked to 200 people with migraines about factors that triggered their headaches. Eighteen percent reported that their diet could trigger attacks. The specific foods that came up most often included cheese and hot dogs.

Another study from the same year included 126 people who had migraine with an "aura." It also found that cheese triggered migraines in some people.

Experts are still trying to understand how tyramine can trigger migraines. One explanation is that tyramine can cause nerve cells in your brain to release the chemical norepinephrine. Having higher levels of tyramine in your system -- along with an unusual level of brain chemicals -- can cause changes in the brain that lead to headaches.